WHO: A total of 10 music teachers from 10 cities across nine states have been announced as finalists for the Music Educator Award™ presented by the Recording Academy® and GRAMMY Museum®. In total, more than 3,300 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states. Nominations for the 2021 Music Educator Award are now open at www.grammymusicteacher.com. A complete list of finalists is below:

Name - School Name, City, State
Elizabeth Bennett - Buffalo Grove High School, Buffalo Grove, Ill.
Stephen Cox - Eastland High School, Eastland, Texas
Victor de los Santos - Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, Calif.
Geoffrey Gould - Swift River Elementary School, Belchertown, Mass.
Elizabeth Hering - Churchill High School, Livonia, Mich.
Jason Majerczak - Drexel Hill Middle School, Drexel Hill, Pa.
Chris Maunu - Arvada West High School, Arvada, Colo.
Lynne Ruda, Lancaster High School, Lancaster, N.Y.
Mickey Smith Jr. - Maplewood Middle School, Sulphur, La.
Kokoe Tanaka-Suwan - Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls, Bronx, N.Y.

WHAT: The annual Music Educator Award recognizes teachers who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. The recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY® Week 2020.

The award is open to current U.S. music teachers, and anyone can nominate a teacher —students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators.

Teachers are also able to nominate themselves, and nominated teachers are notified and invited to fill out an application.

Each year, one recipient is selected from the 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students' lives. The seventh annual honoree will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards® and a range of GRAMMY Week events.

The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium, and the schools of all 10 finalists will receive matching grants. The remaining 15 semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants.

The matching grants provided to the schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champion Ford Motor Company Fund. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.

WHEN: The recipient will be announced during GRAMMY Week. For more information, please visit www.grammymusicteacher.com.

ABOUT THE GRAMMY MUSEUM
The GRAMMY Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating a greater understanding of the history and significance of music through exhibits, education, grants, preservation initiatives, and public programming. Paying tribute to our collective musical heritage, the Museum explores and celebrates all aspects of the art form—from the technology of the recording process to the legends who've made lasting marks on our cultural identity.

For more information, visit www.grammymuseum.org, "like" the GRAMMY Museum on Facebook, and follow @GRAMMYMuseum on Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT THE RECORDING ACADEMY
The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music's history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum®, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards®—music's only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world's leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.

For more information about the Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @RecordingAcad on Twitter, "like" Recording Academy on Facebook, and join the Recording Academy's social communities on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

About Ford Motor Company Fund
As the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, Ford Fund’s mission is to strengthen communities and help make people’s lives better. Working with dealers and nonprofit partners in more than 60 countries, Ford Fund provides access to opportunities and resources that help people reach their full potential. Since 1949, Ford Fund has invested more than $2 billion in programs that support education, promote safe driving, enrich community life and encourage employee volunteering. For more information, visit www.fordfund.org or join us at @FordFund on Facebook and Twitter.